The Epic of Epics
by DOWL
Summary: What would happen if you could become immersed in your favorite stories? If you could become the character of your choice in your favorite book or movie? Follow the story of Matt Cornwell as he experiences this. More chapters to come!
1. Chapter 1

The Epic of Epics

Chapter 1

Hi. My name's Matt Cornwell. I live in a small, rat-infested apartment on Manhattan Island. I own four cats, (to keep the rats away), and two dogs, (to keep the muggers away). I work as a police officer in the 12th precinct and I love chicken and rice. But none of that is the focal point of my story.

I'm here to tell you what can happen when dreams come true. You ever watch a movie, or read a book, and wished that you could be part of the story? You ever wished you could be little orphan Oliver, asking for more soup? You ever wished that you could see the world through the eyes of Superman? Or have the knowledge and street smarts of Doctor Mark Sloan? Well, it can happen. It happened to me.

See, it all started the day I went to the corner store for some cat food. It cost $3.89. I remember things like that. While I was checking out my food (or, my cat's food), a very sharply dressed gentleman walked up behind me. He held a pack of Budlight and a bag of Runts. Like I said, I remember things like that. I have photographic memory. Well, you could actually call it more like videographic memory. I see memories like movies.

Anyways, as I checked out, the man behind me reached around to grab a lighter off the counter. As his hand pulled back, a piece of paper fell from it. He seemed not to notice, so, just after I finished paying, I reached down and picked up the paper. I was about to turn around to give it back to him, but then I noticed the writing on it. _For Matt. _Matt? This man knew me? I turned around and looked at the guy. His green eyes looked back at me. Then one of them slowly closed in a subtle wink. I grinned like an idiot and turned back around, accepted my cash, and walked out.

After reaching my house, and feeding the animals, I pulled the piece of folded up paper from my pocket and sat down on my waterbed. Rising and falling slowly with the tides, I opened the packet. It was typed out, on a computer it seemed, and was not signed. Here's what it said.

_Dear Matt Cornwell._

_Do not be alarmed at this message to you. We mean you no harm. We would like to offer you one of the greatest experiences of your life. If you are interested, meet our informer at the old warehouse on the corner of 6th and Grant. He will give you more instructions._

Strange. I flipped he paper over. Nothing on the other side. What was I to do with this information? And was I to go anytime? Did the man live there or something? I fell back on the bed, closing my eyes. Obi-Wan leaped on my chest and curled up. Obi-Wan's one of my cats. You see, I'm a huge movie fan, preferably science-fiction or fantasy. My other three cats were named Captain Kirk, Jabba, and Aragorn. My too dogs were Wolverine and Aslan. You see what I mean?

As I lay there, stroking the purring feline, I wondered at what I should do. From all initial observances, it seemed like a drug deal. But I had never heard of one going on with a stranger. They didn't know me. But if they did, did they know I was a cop? I thought the right thing to do was go down there, scout out the place. Take my gun of course, but in plainclothes. I nodded. Sitting up and pushing Obi-Wan off me (they weren't supposed to be on the bed!) I reached for the closet. I grabbed the shoe-box on the top shelf and opened it. I pulled my Luger out and made sure it was loaded. I put on a leather jacket and slicked back my hair. Then I headed off to my rendezvous.

Rounding the corner, I saw the meeting place in sight. I pulled up and parked. I was about a block away. I turned my Mazda off and pocketed the keys. I reached for my gun and placed it in my shoulder holster. I hoped I didn't have to use it. I hoped this was a just a small time hoodlum wanted to make a few hundred dollars with some sucker. Most of those types of guys were harmless. I reached over and picked up my Mickey D's coffee. They usually didn't sell coffee in the afternoon, but I convinced them to make me a cup. The place was about to go out of business anyway. The least they could do was satisfy a customer.

I took a sip and replaced the warm cup back in the holder. Perfect fit. _You wait for me_, I told it. I unlocked the doors and set the alarm. I got out and the door closed behind me. There weren't many cars in sight. This was one of the worst neighborhoods on the island. But I knew some of the gang lords and was pretty good friends with most of them. I really was not expecting anything dangerous.

But you know how things can always go wrong. Even though you have the highest hopes, or expectations, our cruel world can still slip you a few Mickey's. My first clue should have been the expensive limo with perfectly tinted windows. It drove by, a bit more slowly it should be, I remembered. Thinking back on this, I really can't believe that I didn't take off from there. Every dog has his day. This was not mine.

I walked the block and a quarter to the large warehouse. 6th and Grant. I was at the right place. There was only one door. I walked up to it, and opened the door. Nothing happened. I walked inside, my jacket flap opened slightly, giving my hand a clear path for my gun. I looked about. Totally deserted. No lights. Newspapers all about, the remains of blankets for the various homeless who had made this their home. No homeless now. I stepped toward the large staircase ahead of me. The entire floor was open, giving me line of sight for anything. Nothing behind the stairs. I headed up them, my curiosity getting the better of me. I heard a police siren sound outside. The Doppler effect told me it was headed toward the station. _That's where I should be heading, _I thought, not for the first time. But I was too curious.

I reached the top of the stairs and found an ornate door. Strange. It didn't look messed up or anything. I ran my hands over it, wondering why it was in such good condition. This door was my second clue to get out of there. But, being the stupid I am, I grabbed the handle and pushed. Nothing happened. I pulled. Bingo.

What I saw when I opened that door totally surprised me. People. Moving about, from desk to cubicle. Yeah, cubicles. It looked like an office building. Everyone wore suits. No one paid any attention to me. I was taken aback. I listened. Telephones, computers printing, bosses calling to subordinates. It all vied with the sights. I could smell coffee and ink. That concurred too. I reached over and touched an unoccupied desk. Felt solid. This place was real.

I looked back and the door was closed. I was about to reach out and leave, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around, probably startling the lady. She smiled at me.

"Can I help you?"

I didn't know what to say. _Why is there on office building inside a warehouse? Who the heck are you? Can I speak to your manager? Do you deal drugs? _None of those seemed appropriate, so I simply reached into my jeans pocket, and pulled out the note I had been given. The lady took it and read it. When she finished, she smiled, handed me the note back, and gestured.

"This way."

I was too curious to ask where she was leading. What was going on? Why was I asked here? The oddity of the whole thing made me think. Was the note from an undercover cop, informing me of a covert operation? And who's operation? Gang? Too sophisticated. Con artists? Maybe. Intelligence? Why me?

I hoped all these questions would be answered when I met whoever it was I was supposed to meet. The lady led me past all the cubicles. I reached out and touched a partition. Still real. I really couldn't get my head around this. I was eventally led into a small room, with a coffee maker and accessories, one door with a sign that read, _Office_, and a single couch.

"He'll be right with you," the lady said.

She then turned to leave. The door closed. As soon as it did, I walked over to the office. It was locked. I went back to the door I had come in. It was locked too! I then started to panic. Not outwardly though. I had to keep cool. I checked around the room. No bugs that I could see. A more thorough search could have come up with some though. I decided to sit on the couch, not even touching the coffee. It was a nice couch. Comfy.

I sat there for what seemed like half an hour. I didn't know the actual time, because my watch had stopped at 4:35. That was roughly the time I had entered the building. Strange. I got up and paced. More time passed. Then, just as I was getting frustrated and was about to try kicking a door in, the office opened and a dapperly dressed man stepped out.

"Hello Mr. Cornwell. Could you come with me please?"

He went back into the office, leaving the door open. What could I do? I entered the office.

There was practically nothing in the room. A single desk, with a computer resting to one side. Two chairs, one behind the desk. No window, nothing on the walls. There was not even any clutter on the desk. The man was already sitting behind the desk, tapping at something on the keyboard. It was time to get tough.

"Excuse me? I would like to know who are, what I am doing here, and why. Who was the man in the store? How do you know my name?"

"Nice accent." I smiled condescendingly. I had been born in Wales and lived in England until I was twenty-one. I had a very clipped British accent.

"Thank you. But I hope to hear your voice explaining to me what's going on!"

"Mr. Cornwell, have you ever heard of the AIR?"

"AIR? No. What's that?"

The man waved his hands.

"This is. You are standing in the middle of our main operations building."

"What does AIR stand for?"

"Artificial Intelligence Research."

I paused.

"Artificial Intelligence? You mean like, robots and stuff?"

"Oh not at all. I'm talking about human made brains. Did you know that the human brain is perhaps the most complex organism in the entire universe? That the memories of an entire lifetime can be stored in only one percent of the brain? Less even. The average human uses only a slight portion of his or her brain during their lifetime. Have you ever wondered why So much is never used? Why is the rest there?"

I couldn't think of anything to say. I had failed biology in high school and dropped a class of psychology in collage. The brain stuff never interested me. I just shook my head.

"No, of course not. Not many people do."

"What do you do here?"

"We come up with ways to use the rest of the brain. Have you ever wondered if it's possible to have multiple lifetimes of memories in your single brain?"

I shook my head. To be honest, I had always taken my brain for granted. Never really thought of it.

The man smiled.

"Mr. Cornwell. Have you ever seen Star Trek?"

I smiled at that. I get into hours of debate about a single show of Star Trek sometimes.

"I am an avid fan, yes."

"Then you will understand me when I mention mind-meld?"

"The process that Vulcan's use when they implant their memories onto another life-form."

"Precisely. Would it surprise you to know that we have come up with a way to do that?"

I grinned at the preposterousness of it.

"You mean if you placed your hand over my face, I could have your memories?"

"Oh, it's a little more complicated then that Mr. Cornwell. I would first have to download my memories onto a special computer, via wires and special implants. Then you would have to be hooked up to the same computer and have my memories downloaded to you. It's a long and rigorous process."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The man stood up from his desk. He walked over to the wall and pressed his hand on it. A window seemed to materialize in the wall, which was concrete. It just appeared, with no explanation how. I was about to ask how he had done that, but he answered my first question.

"We need someone to learn."

"Learn what?"

"Anything we teach him. Karate, Ju Jitsu, weapons handling and maintenance, strategy, street smarts. We need someone to prepare."

"Prepare for what?"

He turned around and the window disappeared. He smiled at me.

"Now that, I cannot tell you. But we know we need you. You are the one who will learn all this."

"Why?"

"As I said, I cannot tell you that at the moment. You will know in time."

I sat there for a second, thinking about this strange proposition. What he was talking about was foreign, strange. But it also made a bit of sense, in a weird sort of way. I shook my head.

"I'm sure if I can do what you're asking. I don't even know who you are. I don't know your name."

"Who we are is not important. As for my name…" He smiled again. "You can call me Agent Smith."

I grinned slightly.

"From the Matrix."

"You know your movies."

"Mainly sci-fi and fantasy."

"Which is one of the reasons we need you."

I stood up.

"I'm sorry. I'm a cop. Until I know more, I don't think I can help you." I turned toward the door. His voice stopped me.

"You would get paid. Ten thousand a week."

That made me think. I stood there, my back to him, contemplating this. At the moment, I was making just a little more than five hundred a week. A nine and a half thousand dollar raise would help tremendously. I could buy a house, a real house. A nicer car. Maybe another cat or two. I turned around.

"You would have to guarantee me that you are working above the law. Any law breaking and I'm out. I'd have to arrest you too."

"I doubt you would be able to find us Mr. Cornwell. But I assure you. We are working well within the bounds of the municipal law."

"And you would explain to me all that is going on…when?"

"In time. When you are ready."

"Ready for what?"

The man grinned and sat again at his desk.

"Ready for a war."

I felt that this was about the time where the music would start up in a movie. The time where the audience would smile with the anticipation. But I heard nothing.

"Then count me in," I said, smiling back.

The next day, I got another note. It had been slipped under my door. If I had woken up two minutes later, Wolverine would have finished demolishing it. It was half chewed up as it was. But thankfully still legible. I made myself a pot of coffee and sat in my little booth, carefully opening the soggy envelope. I took the letter out, spreading it on the table. Here's what it said.

_Dear Mr. Cornwell._

_Thank you again for your acceptance of our offer. Please meet a man at the Central Perk coffee house at noon today. You will know him by the red jacket he will have slung over his left arm. Do what he says._

It was unsigned. I was beginning to get very intrigued by all the secrecy. I sat back, sipping my coffee. Having a thought, I got up, grabbed my keys, and headed out the door.

I got in my car and headed downtown, for the local library. I grabbed my cell phone and called the precinct.

"Twelfth Precinct, Sergeant Yamana speaking."

"Yamana. Matt. Listen I'm not going to be able to come in today. I have things to do."

"O.K. Matt. Anything wrong?"

"No. I'll see ya tomorrow."

I hung up, putting my hand back on the wheel. The traffic wasn't too bad today actually, which was a surprise. I began to switch lanes, but a red car pulled into the spot and roared by. I cursed at the driver and jerked back into my own lane. A red car pulled up in front of my own and stopped at the light. I looked in my rearview mirror. Another red car was directly behind me. I saw a flash of color and glanced at another Red car to my left. The light turned green, but the car in front of me did not move. _What's going on?!_ I saw a man to my right and gasped. There stood someone who looked exactly like me! Perfect features! He opened the passenger door and got inside.

"What do you think your doing?!" I yelled. "What's going on?!"

"Don't be alarmed. We don't mean to hurt you."

"What does that mean?" I didn't get a chance to ask anything else, because my mouth suddenly shut closed. My mind was still mobile, but I couldn't talk. I could hear, feel, see, but not talk. No matter what my brain told my mouth, I could not speak a word. Then my eyes closed shut! I could see nothing! I tried to yell but nothing came out! Nothing! I reached to grab the man, but my arms had suddenly stopped working as well! My body was not responding to anything my brain said. The last thing I heard before my ears suddenly stopped working, was the honking of angry drivers. Then I knew nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

The Epic of Epics

Part 1

Chapter 2

I woke up slowly. I groaned. My head felt like it was on fire. Burning. There was no other explanation for it. It felt like I had been sitting in a hot furnace for the last hour. My arms couldn't move. I raised my head (with great pain) and looked. Oh thank God! They were strapped down. At least I wasn't paralyzed. I tried moving my legs, but they were strapped too. It was then I decided to look around. The room was painted pure white, with one foggy-glass door. No windows. There was a computer that sat at the side of the room, cords running everywhere. I was shocked to see that some ran up the bed and into my body! Yeah, into! As in, inside! One cord ran to just above my heart. The other two seemed to snake up to the sides of my head. I wondered why this was happening. I decided I could do one of two things. I could try to rip the straps from the bed and then the cords, making an effective getaway. But what could have happened to me? I could be on some sort of life support! And what if the cords were controlling my heart rate or my brainwaves?

That was when I first remembered the people I had gone to see yesterday. The Artificial Intelligence Research. Maybe it was them that had me here, hooked up to one of their mind-controlling computers. The more I though about it, the surer I was. I had been kidnapped by some government project, as a guinea pig! What government though, I was not sure.

I decided to just stay put. Someone would come eventually and explain what the heck was going on. They better. I lay back, trying to relax. The bed felt strange. I moved gently, trying to figure it out. It felt kind of like I was sitting in a giant jar of Jell-O, or jam. Probably something special so I wouldn't get bedsores. But then, that meant they were planning on leaving me here for quite a while. That scared me. How long?

I lay there for what seemed like hours. Nothing changed. Temperature stayed the same. Lighting, same. No shadows passed in front of the door. I had no idea if it was day or night. There wasn't a window. I had no way of keeping track of time.

My eyes eventually began to droop. I was getting sleepy. I shook my head, careful not to pull the cords. I couldn't slap myself, which was what I always did when I was going to sleep and I didn't want to. I couldn't help myself. My eyes grew heavier and heavier. I blinked in the blind state between being awake and falling asleep. I could hear nothing. I had already counted all the ceiling panels. I glanced over at the door. I started counting all the bubbles. It didn't last long. I fell asleep. To total darkness.

_"Matthew!"_

I woke up slowly, my head on fire again. My eyes were closed, and it felt like they were glued shut. I slowly shook my head, trying to shake the drowsiness from myself.

_"Matthew!"_

What was that voice? I was hearing things. My eyes still wouldn't open. I realized that I was still not unstrapped. I couldn't see anything, couldn't smell anything, and could taste bile in my mouth.

"Matthew!"

The voice pierced my mind that time, shaking me to wakefulness. My eyes snapped open, to my relief, and I looked around.

I was still in the same room. But with one difference. Well, four differences actually. There were two people manning the computers I was strapped to, turning knobs, typing on the keyboards and some other such nonsense. A man stood about ten feet from my bed, hands behind his back, stethoscope around his neck. Little rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose. The fourth was standing by my bed. A beautiful lady, raven black hair and dark eyes, skin smooth as silk. Well, it looked smooth as silk. I couldn't really tell, since my hands were tied up. She was tall and well-built, with strong arms. She wore a lab coat, like the other three people. She must have been the one calling my name. She smiled.

"Hello Matthew."

"Hi. Who are you? What am I doing here? What do you people want with me?"

Pretty as she was, I was getting mad. She held her hands out in defense and nodded gently.

"I know how you must feel right now. But in time, I think you will come to realize that what we did was necessary."

"Necessary? Abducting me from my car? Keeping me tied up in an obscure lab? Not telling me what the heck is happening?"

"I think that you will eventually thank us."

"Thank you? Look, you're a very pretty girl, but I am getting really pissed off right about now." I frowned at her, trying to show my anger.

She just laughed.

"That is understandable. Let me explain something to you." She grabbed a chair and pulled it up close to the bed. She was about ten inches too short. She reached under the bed and must have pulled some lever or something, because the bed began to fall toward the floor. When I was even with her eyes, she folded her arms on the side and smiled at me again. I couldn't stand her sassiness.

"Have you ever seen Star Wars?"

I laughed.

"Of course. Who hasn't?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Oh, I suppose you have?" I laughed. I doubted she knew one thing about Star Wars.

"Of course. I had too if I was going to write the programs."

"Programs?"

She continued as if I hadn't said anything.

"Tell me something. Which is your favorite character?"

I laughed yet again.

"Why? What's the test?"

"I need to know."

"Well, as high as your hopes may be, I will not go out with you. You'd have to meet my mother first."

She smiled.

"Humorous. But please tell me. Who is your favorite? Anakin? Obi-Wan? Jar-Jar?"

I laughed at that.

"Oh please. Jar-Jar is the worst character ever."

"I agree. Who then? Qui-Gon? Sidious? Maul?"

I was impressed. She was naming characters that only a fan would really know. I decided to answer her.

"I like Obi-Wan."

"Why?"

I smiled yet again. This was getting preposterous. Here they were, about to extract my brain or something, and she was curious about my fictional forays.

"Because he's the best. Obi-Wan never lost a fight."

"Darth Vader managed to kill him."

"No!" I reiterated. "Obi-Wan sacrificed himself so that he could be one with the force and help Luke even more. He was more powerful after he died."

She just nodded. Then, turning away, she nodded to the man who sat at the computer. He nodded back. She turned around and stood up off the chair. I now had to cringe to look at her.

"Very well then Matthew. You will become Obi-Wan." I didn't know what to say. "Don't be alarmed when you first enter the Matrix. This is only a training program and you are not able to die."

"Matrix? Die? What's going on?"

The doctor stepped forward and pulled a syringe from his large coat. He pressed the end gently, squirting a sample into the air. Why did they always do that? He walked over to me, raised my left sleeve, and put the needle against my skin. I tried to squirm away.

"Wait a minute. Is this even legal? Shouldn't I get the chance to refuse this or not? What's in that thing? Why are you doing this?!"

It was too late. I felt the sharp pain and closed my eyes in a grimace. Almost immediately, I felt drowsy. My eyes could not stay open. I was falling into a trance. The lady stepped forward again, just as I drifted off.

"Remember; don't be alarmed, Obi-Wan. May the force be with you."

Then I blacked out.

I woke abruptly, strange noises filling my head. I sat up, wondering at my surroundings. I was sitting in the middle of a forest, large trees towering over me. I looked around, trying to see something familiar. Nothing. There weren't many forests in New York. I had been out for a while. Unless I was in Central Park. I shook my head. Not possible. I couldn't hear any cars. There would have been an ambiance of car horns. I had to be out of the city limits.

I stood slowly, wiping my dirt covered hands on my…cloak? I wore different clothes. Not the jeans and T-shirt I had in the lab, but a floor length brown cloak. I pulled the flap back. I wore an off white shirt and pants underneath. They were scratchy, not of any material I would have chosen to wear. As I looked more closely, a strange thought popped into my head. I kind of looked like…

A noise to my left startled me. I spun, my eyes opened wide, looking for any kind of danger. I saw a flash of black. A person, speeding through the trees. He was fast. I crouched down, trying to hide behind a small bush. I had no idea how I had got here, or what was going on, so caution was going to be my best ally. I looked down at a noise. A huge bug was crawling on my boots! They weren't my boots really, but I had no time to think of that. It was a colorful bug, large patches of blue and yellow. And it had pincers!

Before I could stop myself, I leapt up, shaking my boot and trying to rid myself of the beast. I spun around a few times, when a flash of blue light cut the air in front of me, accompanied with a vibrant hum. Then the light and hum was gone, replaced by the feeling of an arm around my chest and a hand over my mouth. I stopped struggling, firmly in the mans grasp. He whispered in my ear.

"Quiet Master. They are near. They got here faster than we thought."

I lifted a hand and pulled his hand away. He did not resist.

"Who's coming? Who are you?"

The arm around my chest pulled back.

"You don't remember Master? The blow to your head must have been bad."

I spun around, ready to attack my adversary.

"I'm not your…" I stopped. Impossible.

There before me stood Anakin Skywalker. But, it was the face from the movies. I was standing in the same clearing as Hayden Christensen! The actor from the Star Wars movies! Suddenly, the memory of the lady in the lab came back to me.

_"Very well then Matthew. You will become Obi-Wan."_

I looked down at myself again. I was right before. I was wearing an Obi-Wan Kenobi costume! This had to be some sort of joke. Who would put me through this? Who would come up with such an elaborate hoax?

"Wow. Mr. Christensen. It's uh…It's good to meet you. I'm a big fan."

The man looked at me curiously.

"Master? Are you sure you're alright? Do I need to call a med-droid?"

"Med-droid? Oh, uh no. And I'm not your…" Suddenly it all crashed down on me.

For some reason, the people at AIR had put me in this environment, invited this actor to come and play a part, all for some kind of research. But the question was, why? What was the purpose? I decided to find out later. For right now though, being here was almost as good as being in the movies. Better even. No cameras to distract me. It was as if it was actually real. I decided to play along.

"No Anakin, I will be fine. I think I just hit my head a bit hard. Tell me again our mission." I tried to invoke some of the Scottish accent that Obi-Wan had in the movies. I'm not sure if I succeeded.

"Master? You sound strange. I'm not sure if…" A loud noise in the woods stopped him. It sounded like laser fire! What was coming now? Droids? Clones? I decided on droids. Anakin was still Anakin. We would definitely fight droids. Awesome. A thought popped into my mind, just as Anakin stepped over. He held out his hand. No way.

"Master. Your lightsaber. You dropped it."

"Thank you Padawan."

"Your saber is your life Obi-Wan," he said with a smile.

I smiled back. A line from the movies. Except Obi-Wan had said it. I mean, I had said it.

"Don't be sassy with me youngling. I'll report you to Yoda."

I ignored his chuckle and grabbed the saber. Would this actually work? I had heard that the government was doing research on this type of thing, but I hadn't heard if they had succeeded. There was button on the side. I pressed it gently.

Blue light flashed into my view! The hum came back, louder than ever! I started and dropped the weapon. It blinked out as soon as it left my hand and fell o the dirt. Amazing. Hayden, uh, Anakin stared at me. I ignored him. I reached down, and gently picked up the handgrip. I made sure the blade was pointed away from me, then I flicked the button again. The blue blade hummed to life. Woah. I stepped over to a nearby tree and pressed the blade against the side. It cut softly into the trunk, as if I was using a butter knife against melted butter. This could not be happening. Anakin was yelling at me, but I ignored him. I wanted to have some fun. I pushed the blade. It made a clean sweep through the entire trunk. The tree began to creak. I smelt charred wood. The tree began to fall. I watched it topple over in the wood. Suddenly, a speeder came from nowhere, flying directly under the large trunk! The tree fell with a crash, smothering the bike and rider. I looked at Anakin. He smiled at me.

"You never cease to amaze me Master."

"I amaze myself sometimes," I answered.

"Hurry, more are coming. We must be ready." He thumbed his blade on and an identical blue light hummed to life. "May the Force be with you."

_Woah!_ What was that?! A sensation passed through my body, rendering me almost handicapped! It was like nothing I had ever experienced. _The Force!_ I marveled at this. This could not be happening. How could this happen? The Force was not real!

It bubbled through me, coursing my every pore. I looked out at the trees and saw them in a new light. The colors were more vibrant, the entire landscape sharper. I blinked. It didn't go away. I could live my entire life like this!

My attention was diverted to where Anakin was. There were several speeder bikes roaring toward him. He held his blade up in defense, ready to fight them. I didn't know what to do. But he could be killed! Already they were blasting lasers at him! Before I could stop myself, I leapt into the air, channeling my energy.

To my surprise, the world seemed to slow down. I spun through the air, but not as fast as I thought I would. I landed with surprising grace, right alongside Anakin. I raised my blade and faced the droids.

Lasers were shooting my way, but they seemed trapped in time. They moved fairly slowly, slow enough for me to see them emerge from the gun muzzles and move through the air toward me. Noises were muffled, like you hear from slowed down video footage. I had enough time to block them, before they did any damage. _This must be the Force! _I marveled. It was incredible.

I blocked as many of the laser blasts as I could, trying to divert them back at the speeders. Nothing I did, though, did as I wanted it to. I kept from dying, but none of my parries were killing any of the droids.

I felt a sensation in my neck, and before I knew it, I spun around. Somehow, before I had even moved, I knew what I would see. More speeders. Carrying more droids. I brought up the blade in my hand and stood ready to block them.

Suddenly, a pain shot up my back! I fell forward with a cry, my saber falling from my hand and blinking out. I landed with a thump and the world around me seemed to explode. Everything speeded up. The lasers shot everywhere, blasting trees and underbrush with lightning speed. The noises came too. Bright flashes and loud explosions. The pain ripped through my body yet again. I looked over to where Anakin was. He was still battling the droids single-handedly. I tried to call out to him, but the pain was too much. I fell back with a grunt, and the mystical world before me blacked out.

I woke in the lab. The pain was gone. The doctor and computer tekkies were gone. The lady stood at the foot of my bed, smiling. She placed a hand on my leg.

"How did you like it?" she asked.

I shook my head. What was I to say?

"Holy…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So let me see if I can get this straight. You can make computer programs that the mind of a person can enter, like virtual reality, and live out scenarios?"

"Yeah."

"Huh."

I took a sip of coffee. I was off the bed, recuperating from my experience. I had been pretty shook up for about thirty minutes after the whole ordeal. I was sitting in a break room of sorts with Jennifer. That was the pretty woman who had assisted me in the lab. Well, more than assisted me. She had written the whole Star Wars program. With different levels and everything. If I had gotten past all the droids, there would have been other things coming. But I hadn't. I had failed.

"But why? What's the point? I mean…" and I held a hand out in apology. "I love the program. Running around as my favorite Star Wars character was absolutely amazing. I want to get right back in!" She smiled. "But what's the point? It can't be purely for enjoyment."

"I don't know. There's a lot of money in the entertainment business. But no, you're right. There is an ulterior motive."

She stood, setting her coffee mug down on the glass table. She began to pace, which wasn't too easy, because the room was quite small. She moved back and forth for a minute or so, then sat back down.

"There's a madman trying to blowup the world."

The abruptness of the statement made me sit back. Any other time and I would have laughed at the lady. But I had been having the most spectacular day of my life, and this girl seemed very trustworthy. Even when she spouted impossibilities.

"You're serious."

"Absolutely. He has bombs planted in all the major cities of the world."

"Wow." I picked up my coffee and downed the rest of the half-filled cup. That shook me up. I shook my head, trying to explain this.

"What do I have to do with anything?"

"The man who has control of the bombs, is a lot like you."

"Like me?" A thought dawned. "Wait a minute. You don't suspect that I am the…"

"No. Oh no, absolutely not. I just mean that he is a lot like you. His interests. His likes and dislikes. And we needed someone like him to fight against him."

"Fight? I'm a cop, but I don't think I could do much fighting."

"We would train you. And it wouldn't be in the real world. It would be in the Matrix."

"The Matrix. Could you please explain?"

Jennifer sat down beside me and folded her hands in her lap. She took a minute to compose herself, then started.

"The man who has planted the bombs goes by the name Sauron. We do not know his real name, and we have no idea who or what he is. We don't know his nationality, his race, or anything else. We don't even have pictures of him. We just call him Sauron, because that's what he wants to be called.

"Sauron has built a computer program that he calls the Matrix. It is much like the Matrix program in the movie, but it has several programs. Sauron is a sci-fi/fantasy fanatic. He seems obsessed with the same things you are. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Star Trek, X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean. He has built the program so that it will act much like the one you just came from. People can enter, through the computer hookups, and play out the stories as the character of their choice. Sauron has given the main governments of the world one week to raise up a challenger to fight him in his fictional world. That person is you."

"Why me?"

"You have seen these movies that I've mentioned? You know the characters?"

"Yes. I own almost all of them. You mean, this guy, Sauron, could load a program where he is a Klingon commander, and I would battle him as Captain Kirk?"

"Or Picard. Or Archer. Or Sisko. Yes, he will load the different programs and engage in battles."

I sighed. This was preposterous!

"How much time?"

"You start tomorrow. All the games will happen in real time. If you do not defeat this man in one week, then he will initiate the sequence to explode the bombs. If he does that, three fourths of the world's population will be annihilated."

"And he will most likely change programs at any time?"

"Absolutely any time. The disadvantage you will have, is that you will not know what is coming next. You could be battling an army of Orcs in the Misty Mountains one minute, then be fighting Darth Vader in a space battle the next. The advantage you have, is that you will have the ability to switch characters at any time. The characters have to be from the same medium though."

"You mean, I could be Wolverine on minute, then, as the circumstances arise, have the ability to change into…Ice Man?"

"That is correct. Do we have a deal?"

She held her hand out.

"Woah, woah, woah. I can't just make a decision like that. I have to think about it."

"You don't have time to think about it. You have to enter the Matrix at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Any later, and he will initiate. We have to use the time from now til then to train you. You have to go through our programs, so you will know kind of what to expect."

I stood up from the couch and paced like had done minutes earlier. This was too much for my mind to process. I finally had the chance to enter some of my favorite stories, to become my favorite characters. But I could be dead in the next week.

"Three fourths of the entire world Matthew."

"Stop pressuring me!" I yelled. I sat in a metal chair at the small table, placing my head in my hands. I sat there for a few minutes, then looked up at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I'm just so, stressed out right now. This is the strangest day of my life."

"I know how you feel. But we need your answer. Now."

I had no family. Practically no friends. I was not married, not even a girlfriend. The only things dear to me that I would be leaving, were my pets. But as she said, I was their last hope. I felt like Neo. They were counting on me. I turned slowly to her, taking a deep breath.

"Alright. I'll do it. Let's go train."

I lay on the bed, straps surrounding my body. It was necessary, Jennifer said, that I have them, otherwise, my body could go into a seizure or something. There were tekkies working on the computers, loading the program for my next adventure. Jennifer came up to the bed.

"Where am I going to be? Who?"

"We're not going to tell you. Sauron will most definitely change stories very fast. You need to get used to taking in your surroundings fast, and reacting to them. We'll go slow at first, but as it progresses, it will get faster. Now, it is in real time. The time you spend in the Matrix, is the same time your body here spends. Remember, in our programs, you cannot die. When you enter the real Matrix…" She stopped.

I reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I know as much about this tuff as any one."

"Let's hope you know more than Sauron."

I just smiled. Jennifer turned to a technician and nodded. He nodded back. Jennifer squeezed my hand, then let go, strapping my arm down. I closed my eyes, waiting for it.

Nothing happened. I felt nothing. Heard nothing. Did it happen? I opened my eyes very slowly, not sure what I would see. It surprised me greatly.

"Oh my gosh…"

I was standing in the middle of a large hallway. I knew immediately where I was. It looked so much like the movie! I was very impressed. They had replicated it perfectly! To my right was a long silver wall, studded with round doors. One was open, which revealed a room with several uniforms hanging in stasis chambers. On my left, the same wall, except no open doors. Directly in front of me, was a large round door, with an X that extended from the top of the door to the bottom. Next to the door there was a keypad of some sorts. I could not believe it.

I turned to me left and walked up to the wall. It was reflective enough that I could see my image in it. Wow. I was buff! My arms were large and full of muscles. My chest, which was covered in a white undershirt, stuck out almost past my chin and well toned six-pack abs showed as well. My hair was jet black, with long sideburns. I raised my hands and looked at my knuckles. Could it be?

I didn't know which muscles to flex. I tried all I could. I moved my fingers all around, trying to figure it out. _Extend dang it!_ I yelled in my mind.

Instantly, three claws of metal extended from each of my hands. I screamed in pain, falling to my knees. _The pain! It was excruciating! _I grunted, trying to calm myself down. The pain went away in seconds. No pain. I raised my hands again, staring at the claws in fascination.

They extended from each hand, in between each finger, where the finger joined with the rest of the hand. They were each about ten inches long, curved slightly away from me. I reached with one hand to touch a claw on the other. I brushed my finger across the blade. _Ow! _I cut myself. I looked at the slit on my forefinger in awe. It slowly disappeared, the tissue repairing, the skin sewing itself up. The pain went away. This was incredible.

I was Wolverine!

I got excited then, blood coursing through my body. I slashed at a silver door. A hole opened up, three slashes straight down the middle. I slashed again. The hole opened up more. It felt like slicing through butter. I knew the metal, adamantium, was practically indestructible. I could do this all day long and not get tired. This was absolutely incredible! Now, where was someone to fight?!

I got my wish.

Around the corner a figure came running. I gasped. It was Sabretooth! I looked behind me. The hallway ended about ten feet away. Dang! No where to run. I grunted. What was I saying?! I was Wolverine!

_Extend! _I thought in my mind. The claws shot out. I gave a grunt. I was getting used to the pain. Sabretooth stared at me, then smiled. I just glared at him. I raised my hands, showing the claws. Sabretooth smirked, and then started to run towards me.

I crouched into a defensive mode. Sabretooth came running, the hall seemed to shake. I brought my claws up to protect my face. I had no idea what he might do.

Ten paces from me, he leapt into the air. Soaring like an anvil, he came directly toward me, crashing down. I spun to the side, going in low. I brought up a hand and felt the claws rake his chest. He let out a roar and fell to the floor with a crash. He leapt up instantly though and spun towards me. I was already on the move.

I ran up to him, raked my claws across his face and jumped over his shoulder. He screamed and tried to grab me by the waist. He didn't succeed, but he did manage to catch my foot. I crashed to the floor and rolled against the wall. His hand still held my foot, and he pulled. I spun through the air, ramming the giant X door and falling heavily. I felt a cut on my head and reached up. Blood. But no abrasion. I had no time to think about it. He was running toward me again.

I leapt up and raced toward him. Midstride, I launched and grabbed him in the middle, like a football tackle. We both hurled backwards, falling to the floor. I grabbed his arm and spun him around. I let go, letting him crash into the wall. I started to advance, when I felt something like a rope curl around my foot. My feet were pulled out from underneath me and I fell with a bang. I looked around. There. Toad. He crouched on the ceiling, smirking at me. I glanced at Sabretooth. He lay on the floor, groaning. I turned my attention back to Toad. He wasn't there.

I felt the small body wrap itself around my torso. I arched my back and pushed into the wall. Just before impact, the little dude leapt off and swung towards the other wall. He was good. I crashed into the silver wall and pushed off. But I headed not toward Toad, but toward Sabretooth.

I leapt in the air and spun around. Landing with both feet, I pressed into his chest. The large man grunted and stopped writhing. Not a second later, I felt the rope around my wrist. I looked down. Toads tongue was around it. I looked at him. He smiled. I smiled back.

I twisted my hand, and before he could react, I sliced off the end of his tongue with my claws. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor. I raced toward him. He scrambled out of the way and drew his tongue back in. Blood spattered the hall. I leapt in the air with a feral yell and held my claws out before me. Toad lay there, defenseless. I was about to kill him.

Suddenly, I stopped in midair. I wasn't moving. I hung there, immobilized. I couldn't figure it out. The only muscles I could move were the ones in my face. I looked to the side and groaned.

Magneto stood there, framed in the doorway. His hand was outstretched and it held me in my state. Mystique stood beside him, smiling with her seductive way. Magneto moved forward, keeping me in the air exactly where I was. He pulled up right next to me and smiled. His ridiculous helmet graced his head. He held the end of his cloak in his other hand.

"Really Logan, you need to learn how to fight. If you are ever to become an X-men, you need to learn discipline." He smiled as only Magneto could, eyes twinkling as an old grandfather would, but a deep evil behind them. I tried to move, but to no avail. He smiled.

"No use here Logan. I have you right where I want you."

"This is just training!" I yelled in a singsong voice. "There's no need for the sarcasm!"

_"Yes there is. Do you think Sauron would spare you?"_

Jennifer's voice filled my head. I grunted.

_"Now, close your eyes."_

"Why?"

_"You need to advance to something else. You did very well here. You are now a level 1 in fighting."_

"Thank you so much." I closed my eyes and waited. Nothing happened.

"Jennifer? Jennifer?!" She didn't answer me.

I opened my eyes. What I saw made my breath go away.

"Oh, wow!"


End file.
